Box Score DENVER, Colo. ? Taryn Hemmings recorded a hat trick on Friday night to lead Denver to a 9-0 win over the UALR women's soccer team. The Pioneers (11-2-1, 7-0) picked up their seventh-straight victory and remained undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play thanks in part to a 29-to-4 advantage in shots.
“Our last two games have just been horrible. We have so many freshmen on this team and I just don't think they realize how hard it is to play at this level,” said UALR head coach Greg Hess. “We've had some tough games this year and have battled for most of the season. I thought the effort might have been missing recently, but now I'm starting to think that some of our players might have hit a wall. They are having to adjust to a harder level of competition then what they were used to in high school.”
The Trojans (4-10, 2-5) held Denver's offense in check for the first 24 minutes of the game before Hemmings scored her first goal of the night with 24:45 on the clock off a pass from Dana Schonberger. Hemmings struck again seven minutes later to make it a 2-0 contest.
Denver added two more goals in the first half to take a 4-0 lead into the break. Coming out of the intermission, Hemmings found Jenna Billingsley for her second goal of the game, then capped off her hat trick in the 51st minute. The Pioneers added three more goals over the final 25 minutes of the game.
All three goalkeepers saw action for the Trojans on Friday. Senior Ashley Boccarossa recorded five saves in the loss, while freshmen Jamie Laughlin and Stephanie Boccarossa combined for three saves. Sophomore Cindy Jenkins took three of the Trojans' four shots, while freshman Alison Davis accounted for the team's lone shot on goal.
The Trojans return to action on Sunday when they face North Texas at 1 p.m.
“Hopefully we can regroup and have a better effort on Sunday, then rest up this week for our final three Sun Belt games,” added Hess. “If we can fight through this and find a way to motivate ourselves, I think we can make it to the Sun Belt Tournament.”
